Today we’d like to introduce you to Tess Bradley.
Hi Tess, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Alabama and wanted a fun and unique college experience, so I enrolled at the University of New Orleans the same year Hurricane Katrina hit. I had to evacuate a week after moving there for school and landed at UTK because my New Orleans friend had family here. I decided to study hotel and tourism management because I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew that whatever was needed involved travel. So, while in school, I set out on my first big voyage, a 6-month internship in eco-tourism in Ecuador. I didn’t speak Spanish and probably couldn’t have pointed out Ecuador on a map, but I was determined. It turned out to be incredibly transformative, from learning how to live off the grid on an organic jungle permaculture farm to learning Spanish while partying on the weekends in the tiny local beach town to teaching English to Quechua-speaking children at the base of a volcano in a dreamy Andean village. This was when I left my heart in Latin America and knew it would be a big part of my journey.
I finished school and started working at the desk of a local boutique hotel, which was nice. Still, my desire for adventure was burning, so I randomly found a job at a tree house hostel in the middle of the woods in Brunswick, Georgia, called The Hostel in the Forest. I had never been there, but something about it was very intriguing, so I went for an interview. The interview was bizarre, and I almost abandoned the plan altogether. They had a circle before each meal where they talked about what they were grateful for, and people kept telling me how magical the forest was and talking about the power of manifestation. The whole thing seemed way too woo-woo for my taste, but still, I was intrigued, so I said what the heck and went. To say this experience was life-changing is an understatement. The owner, Tom, started it in 1975 as a backpacker youth hostel, and it has undergone many changes. However, from what I understand, the things that have been maintained are mystique and magic. Today, it is an environmental education center and spiritual retreat, complete with geodesic domes, tree houses, a spring-fed lake, compost toilets, and a rotating staff that puts a lot of creativity and love into it. There is not too much more I can say about that without sounding like a crazy person, so if you are intrigued also, you will just have to check it out for yourself.
After leaving there, I felt like I could do anything, so I set out again to Latin America with my partner. I intended to go to Peru, get certified as a yoga teacher, and go from there. We had one-way tickets, which wasn’t ok, so we stopped at the airport and were told we couldn’t continue. Peru won’t allow people to come in with a one-way ticket, but Colombia will! So, on a whim, we decided to fly to Colombia and take a bus to Peru in time for my teacher training. We flew to Bogota, realized we would miss the Yoga training, and broke up in Bogota. I spent the night in a hostel trying to figure out my life quickly. I remembered that I had met someone at the hostel who was starting her hostel somewhere in Colombia, so I reached out to her and quickly got the reply, “Yes, come help me!” So I set out on the next leg of my journey to Amagá, a sweet mountain town just South of Medellin. Here, I was greeted with an incredible amount of love from the whole town, some of whom had never met a foreigner. After helping Paola set up her hostel, I taught English at a local orphanage and became a local English tutor. I started going to Medellin to do plant ceremonies with a shaman from the jungle of southern Colombia, which is another story.
Next, I ended up in Nicaragua, managing an environmental non-profit in the historic city of Leon. While that experience was beautiful, running a non-profit in a language I had not yet mastered was also challenging. At the end of my 8-month stay, I caught dengue fever while at the beach, went to the local hospital, which had no running water and stray dogs running around, freaked out, and then made my way back to the city. It was here that I first discovered acupuncture. The city had a local acupuncturist who helped me feel myself again. When returning to the States, I started working at an acupuncture clinic in Asheville, NC, which furthered my fascination for the Chinese medical arts. Finally, I enrolled in a 4-year master’s program in Chinese Medicine and never looked back. After finishing school, I returned to my college stomping grounds, Knoxville, to join a busy group practice. After working there for a few years while pregnant with my 2nd daughter, I started my own business. I got a lot of negative feedback from people doubting my timing and decision. Still, being the Taurus bull that I am, I shuffled forward and am so grateful that I did because I have deeply enjoyed running my practice. I love the Old North Knox community and the people that find me there. These days, you won’t see me in any Latin American villages. However, thankfully, I still experience magic daily through Chinese Medicine, watching my daughters grow, and being in nature. It’s everywhere; we have to be open to it!
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh, my road has been bumpy for sure. I would say the most significant bumps have been dengue fever, failed relationships, and the death of my father, but with each of those came a big lesson and a whole lot of growth.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Appalachian Acupuncture Clinic?
I practice classical Chinese medicine, which includes acupuncture, herbs, dietary and lifestyle counseling, and adjunct therapies like moxa (heat) therapy, gua sha cupping for fascia release, and electrical stimulation. I specialize in women’s health thanks to my journey with cycle-related issues and the birth of my daughters in 2021 and 2023. Our bodies are so unique and so complicated. I love empowering women to learn about their natural cyclical changes and what all the details mean so they can find balance and work together to achieve their goal, whether they be trying to get pregnant, trying to prevent pregnancy, or trying to balance their cycle and hormones to minimize period or menopause-related symptoms. With all that said, I love treating the full spectrum of body-related imbalances like pain, digestive health, mental health, and even respiratory health. I have had great success treating everything from headaches to back pain to long COVID symptoms. Our bodies are so powerful and can heal, and I love walking alongside folks on that journey. I am also venturing into the world of cosmetic acupuncture and love it. I try to use this practice to help people look and feel beautiful from the inside out. I offer facial acupuncture, which includes regular acupuncture and facial needles to help promote collagen production and help you glow. I also provide holistic botanical microneedling, including regular acupuncture, a TCM herbal mask, and apple stem cells microneedled into the skin.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I am a risk taker. The big ones have certainly been the most transformative, and I would not be where I am today without them. Although I will say that now, with two tiny humans in tow, my idea of risk-taking is a bit tamer these days 🙂
Pricing:
- Initial Acupuncture Appointment- $150
- Return Acupuncture- $100
- Initial Cosmetic Acupuncture- $170
- Return Cosmetic Acupuncture- $125
- Holistic Botanical Microneedling- $350
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.appalachianacupunctureclinic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/appalachian_acupuncture?igsh=MW03OG4zN3phcDd5Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
